Greatest Hits From the Promo Pile V

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The following audio was included in this article:

The
Illinois-based punk/hardcore band Dripping Slits (no comment) recently signed to Thinker
Thought Records to release their debut LP, Short
Skirts & Long Nights. The album is a mix of frenzied distortion, raucous drumming, and the kind of screamo vocals that
always remind me of this dude.
Dave Guidan actually does it better than most, and even occasionally drops into
some kind of semi-listenable vocal styling. Still, it's Thom Crawford's
impressive, bombastic guitar playing that really stands out: the instrumental
first track, "Foreplay,” sets the tone here. Loud, angry, boozed-up hard
rock for all you loud, angry, boozed-up kids.

Elsewhere
in the Midwest, Columbus, Ohio's own Wolf Ram Heart is releasing their debut
album, Betrayal of Hearts, on April
5. Frontman David James has a great pop sensibility, mixing the best parts of
80s synth-rock and the dark chamber pop of St. Vincent or Sufjan Stevens. If
the songs sometimes drag into New Age-y territory, that's more an unfortunate
association of the genre, not a failing on James' part. Between the moody
atmospherics and James' pleasant Ian McCullough-ish vocals, there's a lot to
like here.